Resident Recruitment

Overall recruitment framework

Gonzaga et al. A framework for inclusive graduate medical education recruitment strategies: meeting the ACGME standard for a diverse and inclusive workforce. Acad Med 2020;95(5):710-6.

Highlight EDI in your program website

A prominent EDI statement on your residency or fellowship program's website helps signal your program's vision on these issues, and that you consider them important. Consider adopting a statement that aligns with McMaster University's EDI Framework for Strategic Action.
Incorporate a commitment to EDI in other "one-liner" descriptions of your program on your website, such as the University of Pittsburgh Internal Medicine / Paediatrics Program, which notes, "We have a cohesive, supportive, and hard-working group of residents from diverse backgrounds who are devoted to patient care and to one another."
Highlight current EDI initiative successes in your program and institution, such as the Racialized Residents at McMaster peer support group.
Here are some examples of EDI statements from various postgraduate training programs:

CaRMS

Consider incorporating a prominent EDI statement to highlight your program's commitment to EDI initiatives on your CaRMS program description.
Consider creating a transparent, deliberate process to attempt to mitigate unintentional selection system biases that disadvantage underrepresented in medicine (UIM) applicants.
1. - The University of Toronto Internal Medicine residency program, for example, trains all file reviewers and interviewers in implicit bias. Candidates are welcome to self-identify as Indigenous or Black, and share in their personal statements how their identities impact their vision of medicine and career plans. The same metrics for determining if candidates meet criteria for an interview offer are applied to all applicants. Interviews are conducted by a team, composed of a faculty member who self-identifies as Indigenous or Black, and a resident. Candidates who match through this process are offered mentorship to support their experience and careers throughout their training. Further details are available on the CaRMS match site program descriptions.

Increasing the pipeline

These are efforts to increase the number of applicants to your program who are from UIM groups by engaging with upstream learners.
Encourage your faculty to participate in outreach and mentorship programs with medical school and undergraduate UIM groups, such as the Black Aspiring Physicians of McMaster Association.
Increase diversity among faculty through deliberate, thoughtful approach to faculty recruitment and retention.

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